Sadness Moves in Strange Directions
by Woody2792
Summary: A Jeff/Dixie Fic - CHAPTER 3 UP. Set after little Harry's death R&R loved x
1. Chapter 1

Dixie had never found, or thought of herself to be someone to change her mind. Hell, she was not even someone who would take her words back. But when she stood in Jeff's arms, in their ambulance, she realised she may have changed. They had been like any other friends; always there to comfort each other, pull each other out of danger on shift, just there. He had slept on her sofa; in return he had bought her Little Abs. They could be called the dynamic duo, Shiver an' Shake, anything 'duo-like' really. With a desolate shake of the head, Dixie had felt herself crumple inside; death was one thing, but death of a friend's baby? That was never something to be passed on from during 'Beer-o'clock'.

When Jeff climbed up into the ambulance, Dixie just melted into his embrace, his strong arms holding her up. They were partners, and she loved him as a friend; but anything more? She could not say. To be honest, they already behaved like an old married couple, and argued over the right sort of things, but could she picture herself doing anything different with this paramedic? To her surprise, the answer was yes, she could.

So it seemed that even Kathleen Dixon could be changed, to the extent that all of her main principles came crashing down next to her. As a result, she cherished those moments with Jeffery, and wished she knew what to do. Deep down though, it was only so long until one of them got drunk and did something that they would _not_ regret...

**Okay, so this was a little weird to write... but I've seen them as a could-be-couple for such a long time now... and that hug after little Harry's death (I cried sooo much!).**

**Reviews are appreciated, thanks =D**

**Woody2792x**


	2. Chapter 2

'Kath, I'm glad you have such a good man in your life, you have no idea how happy that makes me.'

Dixie just looked at her dad's smiling face, amused that he thought her and Jeff were together. She almost corrected him, not wanting him to leave with the wrong impression of her life down here; but something stopped her. She and Jeff shared many jokes together, and if seeing that made her dad happy, then she was not about to take that away from him.

'Dad, I do wish you wouldn't call me that, I–'

'I know none of your friends call you by your proper name, but if it's got to a point where I have to call my own daughter by a nickname...'

'Ah what the hell; it's been so long, I think I'll let it slip today.'

Grinning, she lead him into the ambulance bay, and told him to wait, she would go and 'hurry Jeffrey up with those coffees'. In truth, she had to go and intercept him, warn him, before her dad caught him and said something about their..._situation_. as much as she wanted it to be true, Dixie knew she could not just expect Jeffrey to go along with this – there was going to have to be some form of payout or bribery; she hoped that a couple of drinks that evening would be enough. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she nearly ran into the man himself, wandering through the corridors, and whistling to himself as usual. Surprised at herself, Dixie blushed; with her dad here, she realised just how much she knew about Jeff and his habits...

'Hey-ey princess, mind where you're walking! Everything alright with your old man then?'

'Yeah, just fine. Look, about him... He thinks... he thinks we're, well, dating. I know you'll probably say no, but would it be possibly for you to just keep it up until he goes? I mean, I hardly see him, and I want him to think things are okay in _that_ sense...'

'So you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend? Until he goes?'

'Look, don't worry, I'll just tell him that he got it wrong, I–'

'You silly cow, of course I will. Just one thing I want though...'

Dixie eyed him suspiciously, not sure if she really wanted to hear this request.

'What is it Jeffrey?'

'Stop calling me chicken legs.'

With that, the paramedic could not hold it in any longer – she began laughing. 'Sure, I'll just have to come up with something else instead.'

Together they walked back to the bay and drank coffee, Arthur enjoying himself while Jeff and Dixie were waiting for the next shout.

*

The shift was a long one, but after unloading their last RTC into Resus, they left the hospital and took Arthur back to his hotel, before going to their shared home. Dixie said it would probably be better to skip their customary beer on the sofa in front of the television, saying she had another early shift and needed to catch some sleep. Jeff sighed, rolling his eyes in mock distaste.

She went to have a shower, then got into her pyjamas before going to say goodnight.

'Jeff, I just wanted to say thanks for today. I know you didn't have to, but I'm sure Dad'll be gone tomorrow or the day after.'

There was a slight pause, as Jeff nodded his head in response.

'Well, goodnight then.' Dixie took a step forward to give him his hug – he claimed he couldn't sleep without it – but was, for the second time that day, surprised when she found herself lightly kissing his lips. What was an even greater surprise though, was that he did not protest or pull away, until she broke it, stepping backwards.

'Ahem. Well... _That_ was weird...'

''Too right princess. But d'ya know what? I can't help but think it felt right. Come here.'

As Jeff opened his arms to her, Dixie took a tentative step towards him, unsure of what was going on. It may feel good, but it went completely against who she was, and she had not seen Jeff as the sort of guy who accepts things this easily.

'Jeff, I'm not sure about this. It really isn't 'me', and I need some time to figure this out. I'm sorry.'

Trying not to look at his eyes, she gave him a quick hug before quick-footing it to her room; she knew she initiated the kiss, but that did not mean she knew why. Hopefully sleep would provide her with the answers to keep her friendship, maybe while making it into something more...

**Okay, so this idea came to me when I read the following spoiler on the BBC Press-office webpage:**

"Dixie is delighted when her father, Arthur, turns up out of the blue but saddened when he tells her some unexpected news. When Arthur sees Dixie and Jeff sharing a joke together and tells Dixie he's glad she has a supportive boyfriend, something stops her from correcting his mistake."

**Hopefully you don't think this was too OOC...**

**There may be more coming soon... depends greatly on the reviews of 'me likey' to this one, and the inspiration I get. Of course, if there are reviews of 'me no likey' to this one, then I'll probably still continue, if only to use up the inspiration =p**

**Woody2792x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, well this is based on another spoiler, but I don't feel this is quite up to my usual level of writing. Instead of Dixie's POV, this is from Jeff's – just a little change =)**

**I'm afraid, that due to many other commitments (other stories, writing, trying not to fail at school...) this is the end of this fic. However I will do another Jeff/Dixie one at some point. Many apologies, and thank you for the reviews/favourites/alerts – they make me so happy.**

**Woody2792x**

Jeff and Dixie fought on through the days, an awkwardness surrounding them wherever they went. Dixie had eventually proposed to Jeff, if only to keep her dad happy; this only served to increase the tension, especially when Arthur was around. The 'couple' regularly had disagreements over what they should do: tell Arthur the truth, go along with the story so far, or lie to their colleagues, but neither of them could come up with enough arguments to persuade the other. As much as Jeff had not wanted to deceive their colleagues, he had not wanted to contribute to anything going wrong with, or upsetting Arthur.

So, here they were. Standing at the altar, together, about to get joined in matrimony. He knew, when he announced it to everyone, that it was not the best thing to do, but what's a man gonna do to save his best mate? Jeff suppressed an urge to chuckle – this was so similar to that film with Adam Sandler in... But he doubted that they would get investigated by any other people other than their friends. He played with his shirt collar for about the fiftieth time in the space of ten minutes; he hoped Dixie understood just how much he was giving up for her.

The kiss they had shared had made him rethink everything they shared. It was not like he made a habit of kissing lesbians, and nor would he say Dixie was the stereotypical 'fit bird', but somewhere along the line, their jokes and colleagues-ness had meant a lot more to him and, somehow, this felt right. It hurt to admit it, because he'd been rushed into realising his feelings and had not had a real chance to explore them.

The Vicar closed the ceremony with the traditional 'You may now kiss the bride', and tentatively, Jeff lifted the veil from Dix– his _wife_'s face. He touched her lips with his thumb, then leant in. There was a pause of just under a second before the congregation began cheering, evidently they were just as shocked as he was that it had really happened.

Later, while opening the dances at the party, Jeff felt something in him click. The person he held against him was not just his wife, more his soul mate. So what if they were married? Nothing much would change between them, and that was just fine with him.


End file.
